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What is Bluesky when it’s not the underdog?

Anthony Ha — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 19:51:11 +0000

Bluesky is having a moment — a moment that’s already stretched on for nearly three months. Over the summer, the social media app saw a wave of new signups in Brazil after X (formerly Twitter) was temporarily banned there. And in the United States, unhappiness with changes at X, and with owner Elon Musk’s close […]

Disgruntled X users make the switch to Bluesky

Cody Corrall — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 21:06:00 +0000

Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re breaking down Bluesky’s big surge in users, Elon Musk co-leading Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” and Mark Zuckerberg’s latest foray in extreme wife-guy behavior. Let’s go. Bluesky is seeing a major surge as X users unhappy with the platform’s latest policy decisions make the move to […]

TikTok parent ByteDance reportedly values itself at $300 billion

Anthony Ha — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 17:26:40 +0000

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, valued itself at $300 billion in a recent share buyback offer, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. That number might sound familiar, as the WSJ previously reported on a ByteDance buyback offer at a $300 billion valuation back in September 2022. But a year […]

Unlike X, Bluesky says it won’t train AI on your posts

Aisha Malik — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 21:26:11 +0000

Bluesky, a social network that’s experiencing a surge in users this week as users abandon X, says it has “no intention” of using user content to train generative AI tools. The social network made the announcement on the same day that X (formerly Twitter) is implementing its new terms of service that allow the platform […]

What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor

Amanda Silberling, Cody Corrall, Alyssa Stringer — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 21:00:00 +0000

Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been two years since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as potential […]

How social app Spill plans to capitalize on the exodus from X

Dominic-Madori Davis — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:47:13 +0000

Social networking rivals continue to benefit from the user exodus from X. Spill, the social app founded by two former Twitter employees, released a statement claiming it has also seen a jump in users after the U.S. presidential election, following similar news by Bluesky, which gained more than 2 million users during that time. The startup, […]

As Bluesky surges, Threads begins testing custom feeds

Sarah Perez — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:44:52 +0000

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday announced the company’s X competitor, Threads, would begin testing custom feeds for specific topics and profiles, making it easier for users to find communities and conversations that interest them. The news follows the rapid growth of the social networking startup and X rival, Bluesky, which prioritizes tools that allow […]

Bluesky says 1 million people signed up for the platform in last 24 hours

Ivan Mehta — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 03:37:27 +0000

Bluesky said Thursday evening that over 1 million people signed up for the platform in the last 24 hours, making it one of the busiest days for the company. This also meant the social network crossed the mark of 16 million users overall. The platform’s announcement comes hours after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that […]

How to use Bluesky, the Twitter-like app that’s taking on Elon Musk’s X

Sarah Perez — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:53:05 +0000

Bluesky is continuing to blow up. The Twitter-like service and alternative to Elon Musk’s X, has now surpassed 16 million users after seeing rapid growth in the days following the U.S. presidential election. While many are leaving X over the service’s increasing right-wing leanings and Musk’s campaigning for Trump, others are unhappy with other changes […]

Bluesky is courting the Swifties

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:20:30 +0000

Bluesky has grown by 2 million users — about 15% — since Donald Trump won the U.S. election last week. But the emerging social platform isn’t just acting as a refuge for left-leaning X users who are disappointed in Elon Musk’s alliance with the president-elect. A community of Taylor Swift fans, or Swifites, has also […]

YouTube chases TikTok with new gifting feature for vertical livestreams

Aisha Malik — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:50:02 +0000

YouTube is launching a new way for creators to earn money during vertical livestreams, the company announced on Thursday. Viewers can now buy “Jewels,” a digital currency, to send “gifts” to creators. Gifts are animations that appear on screen during vertical livestreams. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to TikTok’s live gifting feature […]

Meta slapped with a €798M fine in Europe over anticompetitive Marketplace practices

Ingrid Lunden — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 14:07:07 +0000

Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been hit with yet another huge regulatory fine in Europe, this time over abusive practices related to Facebook Marketplace. The European Commission announced that it would fine Meta €797.72 million — nearly $840 million — for breaching EU antitrust rules connected to how it ties its […]

Snapchat will soon be able to alert parents when their teen leaves or arrives at certain locations

Aisha Malik — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Snapchat is bringing enhanced location sharing to Family Center, its parental controls hub, the company announced Thursday. Users have been able to share their location with others on Snapchat for quite some time now, but the new addition allows parents to get an alert from within the app’s Family Center when their teen departs from […]

TikTok is integrating with influencer shopping app LTK, videos show

Amanda Silberling — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:52:48 +0000

An integration with LTK, an app that lets consumers shop from creator and influencers’ recommendations, is rolling out on TikTok, according to videos by select creators viewed by TechCrunch. The collaboration could boost fashion creators’ ability to earn affiliate commissions via LTK, while also making it easier for consumers to locate the clothes and accessories […]

Trump expected to try to stop looming TikTok ban

Aisha Malik — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:52:04 +0000

President-elect Donald Trump will try to prevent TikTok from getting banned in the United States, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. During his campaign, Trump promised voters that he would save the popular social media app if elected. Former Trump adviser and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told the Post that the president-elect “appreciates the breadth and […]

Bluesky is seeing an exodus of unhappy X users following the election

Sarah Perez — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 19:26:15 +0000

X, formerly Twitter, is no longer the “digital town square” it once promised to be. Following the results of the U.S. presidential election, floods of users unhappy with the app’s latest direction are moving over to a competing app, Bluesky. Bluesky’s decentralized social media platform has steadily grown from 9+ million users as of September […]

TikTok launches integration with Lemon8, as US ban looms

Aisha Malik — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:33:23 +0000

Users will be able to directly access Lemon8, ByteDance’s newer social media app, with their TikTok account, the company announced Tuesday. ByteDance says the integration will make photo sharing more feasible, and give creators the ability to cross-share photo content between the apps. Lemon8 will remain a separate app, but the two platforms will share […]

French newspapers want social media platform X to pay for news reuse

Romain Dillet — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:17:28 +0000

It’s rare when French newspapers team up and agree on something. But major publications, such as Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Le Parisien, have collectively decided to take legal action against X over neighboring rights, according to a statement sent to Reuters and the AFP. Under EU law, digital platforms are required to negotiate with […]

Europe’s DMA forces Meta toward ‘less personalized ads’

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 14:37:03 +0000

Meta, under legal pressure in the European Union over a binary “pay us or consent to ad tracking” choice it currently offers regional users of its social networks Facebook and Instagram, is changing how its regional ad business works again. Little wonder when compliance failure in this context risks fines of up to 10% of […]

Signal gets new video call features, making it a viable alternative to Zoom, Meet, and Teams

Ivan Mehta — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 09:20:16 +0000

Privacy-focused messaging app Signal is adding new features for video calls, including links, reactions, and a calls tab, in a bid to pose as an alternative to Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The highlight of the update is a new “Calls” tab, which lets you make new calls, manage call links, and check your […]